Time and Place
by Writing On The Walls
Summary: Axel meets Roxas. Or well, Axel kisses Roxas. Then comes the meeting, and the ice cream, a thousand weird dates and a lot of screaming. Because Roxas wont stop screaming. Akuroku.
1. Chapter 1

Hi there.

It's been an awful long time since I've written anything but this is my nanowrimo for 2014, aw yis. As it's a work in progress, and well, a nanowrimo, please excuse the sloppyness! Constructive criticism is well loved (so is eternal adoration and praise, haha i'm hilarious) so please review!

xxxxxxx

It's the most annoying thing in the world, Axel thought to himself, when you are dragged along somewhere by your two so-called best friends, simply so they can spend the night drunkenly making out, whilst you sway awkwardly near them, to music you don't even like.

In other words, Axel's night in a nutshell, excuse the cliche.

The two in question were the arguably drunker Demyx, and the usually-quiet-and-shy-but-currently-too-drunk-to-care Zexion. After a long, complicated, drawn out saga of (what Axel would describe as) boring does-he-like-me-no-wait-he-hates-me-oh-no-my-life-is-over etc etc the two had finally gotten together. Axel, whilst being happy for his (stupid, irritating) friends, was curent more bored than that time his other (psychotic) friend Larxene had made him watch the weekly catchup of her guilty pleasure: Family Feud.

Zexion gripped the taller boy tighter, and Axel could practically sees tongue darting in and out of Demyx's mouth. They weren't exactly being subtle.

He sighed to himself, brushing back his long, inexcusably red hair. He was going to kill them once they'd sobered up enough to actually care about his feelings.

His eye roamed the dirty room, from the sticky floors to the cobwebbed ceiling- their current location wasn't exactly the nicest. There was a bar with a few cute bartenders, but Axel didn't have the money or the patience to go over and harass them (nicely of course.) and so his eyes continued to examine the people around him.

Scantily clad girls were cute, but common. Blue hair wasn't a rarity, and his tear-drop tattoos didn't exactly make him stand out. Heels too high, clothes too tight, nobody interesting, nothing to gain.

That is, until he spotted the one boy who looked totally out of place. Where everyone seemed to be wearing black, this boy was wearing clothes that were not only white, but looked brand new.

In other words, total blasphemy. His blonde hair was unashamedly not covering his face, and his eyes were a deep, piercing blue, kind of like the colour Axel had always assigned to Albus Dumbledore. He was wearing ridiculously oversized shoes, and he looked about as uncomfortable and bored as Axel felt.

In other words, total perfection in the form of a teenaged boy.

Axel stood up quickly, but neither of his friends turned to look in his direction. He didn't even bother explaining where he was going. In fact, he wasn't quite sure himself until the was standing beside the boy.

"Haven't seen you around. I'd have thought i'd have a face like yours memorised."

The boy gave him a puzzled look, as though he was unsure why a stranger had just approached him. Or maybe he was dazzled by Axel's height and good looks.

Or maybe, he just hadn't understood because of the music that was literally making the ground shake.

The red-head shuffled closer, blushing slightly. He was going to make some witty, intelligent, dazzling remark, but as soon as he was close enough to speak, he was caught by surprise at the precise and stunning blue of the boys eyes. He thought he had been prepared, but they were just so deep and captivating. Before Axel could comprehend what he was doing, he moved his mouth over the shorter boy and pressed their lips together.

The boy's pretty eyes widened, not that Axel saw, his own eyes (which he always carelessly referred to as 'Lily's eyes') were closed tightly.

That wouldn't prepare him for the sharp pain in his lip as the other boy bit down hard, or the dull ache in his cheek that followed a resounding slap.

The blonde shouted something angrily, before stalking off in the opposite directly, where he was promptly joined by an almost equally out-of-place boy, with an identical face and stature but with bright pink hair.

Axel was stunned. He lifted his hand up to his cheek, massaging the place where the boys hand had met his pale skin.

Demyx bounded over suddenly, dragging him towards the dancefloor, but Axel couldn't say a word.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was two days later, that Demyx and Zexion sat him down and demanded to know what was wrong with him. He blinked slowly. He hadn't been acting up, he'd been keeping his music to a minimum and he hadn't moped around the apartment once.

"What do you mean?"

"Well," began Demyx, "You've been acting up."

"And," continued Zexion, "Your music's been up really loud."

"But mostly it's just the moping around," concluded Demyx with a pout.

Axel blinked again. "Um…"

"Is it about blondie?"

Axel froze. How did they know?

"We saw him," grinned Demyx.

"Mostly just him slapping you," added Zexion with a grimace.

Axel rolled his eyes. "I'm perfectly fine. Some stupid kid with bad hair isn't going to ruin my

life, believe me, i'm fine."

"If you say so," said Zexion, obviously happy that the conversation had ended. He sat down, picked up his controller, and continued playing the game of Demyx's that he had put down to take part in the most boring conversation he could've imagined.

Demyx frowned, for the 8th time in his life. "Axie, I know you're upset, why don't you ever tell me what's wrong?"

"I'm fine," stressed Axel, rolling his eyes once again. "Like I said, I kissed a boy, big fucking deal, he was cute, and I did something stupid, so what." He paused. "And don't call me Axie."

Demyx pouted. "It's been a while since you've been with anyone, we're just worried about you."

"Demyx is worried about you," called Zexion cheerily. "I enjoyed seeing you put in your place."

Axel sighed. "I don't even know his name."

"I do!" Piped up Demyx. Axel looked at him skeptically.

"How, oh mighty bringer of knowledge, do you know that?"

"They moved across the street from me," piped up Zexion, not moving his eyes from the screen. "There's three of them. The boy you so kindly introduced to our neighbourhood- Roxas. His somewhat identical twin brother Ventus, and their older brother Sora." Before anybody could say anything, he continued. "My mother made me bring them a cake."

"How lovely."

Roxas. The name sounded oddly familiar. Like he'd heard it in a dream. Not that it was an awfully common name, just that…

"I'm bored of this conversation." Zexion moaned. "Wanna make out?"

Demyx didn't need to be asked twice.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Axel tried his hardest not to think about the boy. His petite body, his golden hair, his delicate hands, his stunning eyes.

It was, however, turning out to be near impossible. Axel was working the following Wednesday afternoon at the local ice cream parlor when destiny struck..

But before we get to that, let us take a moment to talk about Axel's family.

Axel was born at three minutes past two in the morning on the 25th of October, 1995. His parents were terribly delighted, as most are, to have a son after trying for many years. You see, his father was a wealthy businessman, and his mother an artist. They had been born on the same day, of the same year, and had met during high school, your typical cliched love story. The knowledge of their identical date of birth drew them together, and it was a long story, complete with awful television shows, even worse music, and some of the most terribly described first dates Axel could've imagined. But it all worked out in the end, and they'd conceded to live happily ever after.

However, they'd had a rough few years dealing with the fact that they could not have children, and it had almost torn them apart. Until the miracle of Axel's conception, of course. They'd never really been short on money, despite Axel's mother's job being so unsteady. So Axel had grown up with everything he'd ever wanted, from toys, to cds, to video games, to apartments with his best friend.

Axel had always been appreciative of the fact that his parents had worked so hard to give him the life he wanted, but it was a little bit tiresome always having to go to your parents for money, especially for some of the things Axel really wanted. And so, being Axel, he'd gone to his father, asking for guidance on how to get a job of some sort. His father had recently acquired a chain of ice-cream stores, one of which was conveniently opening in Twilight Town. Axel had been fifteen at the time, and so the store had grown up with him. Everyone who frequented the store knew his name, and Axel now had his own money with which to waste on video games, and dates with cute boys, the occasional cigarette and all that jazz.

He might not own the apartment he and Demyx lived in, but he had comfort in knowing he had contributed in some way to it's being. Demyx didn't exactly mooch off Axel either. He himself had a semi-successful career and was a minor local celebrity, but more on that later.

And so, Axel acquisition of his job at Scrooge's Ice Cream had led to his second meeting with Roxas.

The bell chimed, and Axel looked up from the book he had been reading. Wednesday's weren't particularly busy, but it had been a nice day out, and so many of the local's had come for ice cream.

He gazed directly into the boys beautiful eyes, just as a look of realisation passed over them.

"Hi." Said Axel, kicking himself mentally.

The boy just looked at him.

"Is there anything I can help you with," asked Axel after a solid 20 seconds of nothing, "or are you just going to stare at me all day."

The boy shook his head, and Axel was beginning to think he was mute, before he stuttered out a response. "T-two sea salts please."

Twilight Town's signature ice-cream. The boy was brave, he'd give him that. Axel took two out of the freezer, and handed them to Roxas. "That'll be 30 munny," he intoned, trying to pretend that he wasn't screaming inside.

Roxas handed over the munny, not looking at anything bar the ice cream. "Have a good day" muttered the redhead, as the blonde walked out without another word.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"He wouldn't even look at me" goaned Axel throwing himself onto Demyx's lap, tears glistening in his emerald eyes. "Why am I so stupid."

"Well, I think it might have something to do with the time you fell off the monkey-bars, smashing open your head on the concrete. Six stitches was it?"

"Well, who is dumb enough to put concrete under monkey bars!" argued Axel, "and you aren't helping!"

"Sorry" Demyx said, not looking sorry at all. "I mean, if you're going to marry Roxas, you need to atleast say something nice to him."

"Nice?" Axel questioned. "What am I supposed to do, compliment his gorgeous eyes whilst he's trying to buy ice-cream?"

"Well," said Demyx, dragging out the word, "you could compliment his ass instead."

"Are you implying I'm a pervert?"

"No implication was needed."

"Some friend you are," muttered Axel, standing up.

Demyx just laughed. "I'm off to make out with my boyfriend."

"Have fun," replied Axel, rolling his eyes, which was not uncommon for any conversation that involved Demyx and Zexion. "Make sure you use protection."

"Yes sir."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

If Axel had expected Roxas to turn up at his work again, he was living a fantasy, for he did not even see a glimpse of blonde hair for the next three weeks. He became increasingly frustrated. He understood why the boy would be avoiding him - kissing him, had been a mistake. He might as well have whipped out his penis and shoved it in the other boys mouth for all the difference it would make. But still, he hoped.

It was halfway through the second week, that Axel started taking the long route home, simply so he would walk down Trinity Lane where Roxas and his brothers had been rumoured to live, according to Zexion anyway. But nothing. No sight of Roxas, no sight of pink-hair and no sign of any other brother Roxas might've had.

It was Friday night, mid-way through the fourth week, and he was on a date. Not an exciting date by any means, but a date he felt obligated to go on.

A son of one of his father's business friends. A nice boy, about six-foot, funny, with blue hair and bold eyes. But Axel couldn't for the life of him remember his name. It started with an N, he was sure of it. Nathan? Nicholas? Noel?

"How do you spell your name again?" Asked Axel, moving the food on his plate around with his fork.

"Oh," laughed the boy. "S-A-I-X"

"Oh." Repeated Axel, and he continued moving the food name, still boring.

"What's on your mind?" Asked the other boy, staring adoringly up at Axel, batting his eyelashes inconspicuously.

Axel forced a smile. "You, of course." Saix beamed, and Axel internally patted himself on the back.

Saix nattered away about a thousand different things, (including the moon cycle, which Axel found a little weird) whilst Axel mooned over a boy whose name he did not even know how to spell.

Later on, after the sex (which was average, but passable) Axel, still thinking about Roxas led Saix to the door. "I had a lovely time," murmured the other boy, picking up Axel's phone without prompting, and typing in his number. "Call me?"

"Sure." Replied Axel, not intending to at all. Saix leaned in for a goodbye kiss, and Axel complied. It was also average, and Axel fell asleep that night with images of dancing blue eyes.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Welcome to Scrooges, how can I help you?"

It had been an especially sunny day, thus a rough afternoon, and Axel was hiding out the back whilst his co-worker Kairi served the evening stragglers.

He'd just finished his break, and as sending Kairi on hers, when the door chimed. Kairi darted out the back, and Axel turned to greet the customer. He froze.

Standing on the other side of the counter, was a boy. A boy wearing a way too bright white shirt, a checkered wristband and a bandanna in his messy hair. He had a camera slung around his neck, and way too familiar dumpy shoes. Roxas.

"Hi." Said Axel, once again.

"Axel," muttered the boy, and the redhead looked at him.

"Huh?"

"Name-tag." Said the blonde.

"Oh."

An awkward pause.

"Um, two se-"

"About the other d-"

Another pause.

"Go on," said both at once.

Axel grinned. "Two sea-salts?"

"Please."

Axel rummaged around in the giant freezer, and pulled out the two requested icecreams.

He passed them to Roxas, and accepted the munny. Roxas thanked him, and turned to leave, but Axel stopped him. "Wait."

Roxas turned around. "I-I'm sorry." He said. "About the other d-"

Before he could finish however, Roxas' eyes had rolled to the top of his head, and he collapsed onto the floor.

Axel shouted, he couldn't help himself. He flung himself over the counter, grabbed the smaller boy and started checking for a pulse. He found one at once, and breathed a sigh of relief as Roxas' eyes shot back open. But they were glassy and full of fear.

Then he started screaming.

Axel panicked. He threw himself away from Roxas, who curled up into a ball, and started shaking, the terrible sound still pouring out of his mouth. Did he call a doctor? Was he having a seizure? What was happening?

Kairi came running in, her eyes widening at the sight of the boy writhing on the floor. She scrambled down next to him, placed an arm on his shoulder and whispered soothingly into his ear.

Roxas pushed her off, and sat up, looking around in fear.

"Don't, don't, don't, please help me, please, don't let them-"

"Don't let who? Do what? I don't understand?"

"Please, I don't - they're going to get me, you can't let them, I-I.."

His breathing was abnormally loud and fast, his eyes were darting around the tiny shop, his arms flailing, his lips quivering. "Please," he begged again, I'm so scared I-"

Then he blinked twice. His face turned a pale white, and he lay back down on the floor. Axel quickly walked over, locked the shop and turned the sign to 'closed.'

Kairi was on the floor, once again whispering soothingly into Roxas' ear. The boy had turned a deep scarlet, and was nodding, murmuring embarrassedly at Kairi.

He looked up as Axel walked towards him again, kneeling next to him. "I'm sorry," he muttered as Axel asked "Are you okay?"

The blue eyed boy nodded, looking down at the floor. Kairi had gotten him a glass of water, and he swallowed it in one giant gulp. He stood up, thanked both of them, and left the shop without another word, and without his ice cream.

Kairi and Axel started at each other for one long moment. Looking down, Axel spotted the boys fancy camera sitting on the floor, obviously having rolled under one of the tables. He bent down to pick it up.

"Who was that?" Asked Kairi, slowly beginning to tidy up the mess that the small boy had made.

"Well, remember that boy I was telling you about…"


	2. Chapter 2

Axel had taken to carrying the camera around with him,just in case he ran into Roxas again. It looked like-new, was a pale blue in colour, and upon further inspection was actually a polaroid. The knowledge that he couldn't see the photos, couldn't see into the boys mind, couldn't learn anything at all about the boy he wanted so badly to know, nearly destroyed him. Axel was all about dramatics, after all.

Surprisingly, it was only a few days later that Axel ran into Roxas again. He hadn't even been thinking of the boy at the time (a mighty feat for Axel at present) when he (quite literally) bumped into him.  
>He had been with Demyx to visit Zexion at his work.<br>Zexion himself had been working since he were 15, however he came from a much poorer family than Axel's. He worked at the local library, shelving discarded books and yelling at 12 year olds to shut-up and be quiet, and at 18 year olds for making out behind the shelves.

It was at the library that the meeting occurred. Of course it was a library, because Axel's life was the cliched fantasy of every thirteen year old girl it seemed.

Regardless, Axel was walking towards the counter, reading the blurb of the latest 'Keyblade War' novel when it happened.

"Ouch," yelled a voice beneath him. Axel looked down. Without realising he had walked right into a stack of books, under which lay a cranky Roxas.  
>"Watch where you're going!" Shouted the small boy picking up his books. "You nearly cou- Oh." He stopped abruptly, as his watery eyes made contact with Axel's smirking face. "It's you."<p>

"I believe 'you' had a name," retorted Axel. "As you so kindly reminded me during our last encounter."  
>Roxas blushed a red almost as deep as Axel's scruff of hair. "Well, I.."<p>

He paused, seemingly unable to think of anything more to say.  
>Axel continued for him. "I'm sorry for being such a grouch, I promise to repay you with copious blowjobs and you can even come live in my trash can."<p>

Roxas just stared at him.  
>"Too far?"<br>"I am not a grouch."

"So you'll do the blowjobs then?"  
>Roxas spluttered. Axel grinned, taking out the polaroid from the bag slung around his shoulders. "I believe this belongs to you."<p>

A look of mixed pleasure and gratitude crossed Roxas' face, and he looked as though he was considering hugging Axel. "Oh man, I thought i'd lost it forever! You are just so, I mean, how can I ever repay you? This thing cost a damn fortune and I just…" he trailed off, and Axel took his chance.

"Hang out with me."  
>"Sorry?"<p>

"Well, you asked how you could repay me, and I would really like it if you uh, hung out with me." It was now Axel's shot to turn red.  
>"I mean, totally platonic, you seriously don't need to give me any blowjobs, it's just that my friend Demyx is playing a gig at Mickey's this weekend- he's in a band, Melodies of Nocturne, I don't know if you've heard of them- and I just didn't want to go with his boyfriend because he just whines about how perfect and wonderful Demyx is and I just don't think I can handle it anymore," he half rambled, half begged.<p>

Roxas smiled at Axel for the first time. "I think I can do that."

"Great!" Axel gushed, rather more enthusiastically than necessary, doing a victory dance inside his head. "I'll uh, pick you up at 7.30 Saturday?"

Roxas smiled again, continuing to pick up his books.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The cum had stained his brand new, black jeans. Axel swore, continuing to try scrub the stain off. The sex hadn't even been that good in comparison. Not that he had a lot to go off. A small fling with Riku, and casual 'I wonder what it feels like when…' occasional sex with Demyx.

The foreplay had been fine. The sex itself? If Axel could stop thinking about Roxas…  
>Roxas.<p>

What was he doing?  
>He didn't even like Saix.<br>What was he doing?

Picking up his phone, he dialled Zexion's number.  
>"Zexy, I need help." Whined Axel, flinging himself onto his bed, once the older boy had picked up.<br>He could just feel Zexion's eyes rolling through the phone. "What'd you fuck up this time."

"I just - " Axel thought for a long time before finishing his sentence. "I want to help him. I want to know what's wrong, and I want to fix him."

Zexion sighed. "Have you ever considered that this boy isn't a damsel in distress who needs you to save him?"

"Well yes, but-"

"Not everything is so simple," continued Zexion. "You don't know if there's even a way to 'fix him,' Or, say you find it. Then what? Approach him all 'oh hey cute boy i'm obsessed with for no good reason, here's a solution to all your problems!' Do you want another slap in the face."

"Well, no, but-"  
>"Exactly," concluded Zexion, an obvious smirk on his face. "Not everybody needs a hero."<p>

Axel hung up, feeling worse than he had before.

xxxxxxxxx

Saturday morning dawned bright, sunny and obnoxious (in Axel's well-informed opinion.) He spent most of the morning hurrying around town with Demyx, trying to complete a list of last minute things Demyx needed for that night (Including guitar picks, deodorant, fluffy green handcuffs and cellophane - Axel had long since given up on asking.)  
>Axel hardly thought about Roxas at all.<p>

That is, until it was 4pm and Demyx had left for his pre-show ritual (sex with Zexion, then a soundcheck followed by a nice, long, meditation session.)

"What am I going to WEAR." Axel was on the phone to Kairi this time, who simply giggled into the phone.

"You're such a thirteen year old Axel."  
>"What can I say, I'm young at heart," he retorted. "I don't know why I bother with you people."<p>

Axel ended up dressed the same the night he had 'met' Roxas. Yet, that didn't register with him until the millisecond after he'd knocked on Roxas' front door at 7.28. He swore violently. What if Roxas had an awful reaction to what he was wearing? What if he just slapped him in the face again? What if he collapsed..

But the door wasn't opened by Roxas. It was opened by a boy wearing gloves on his head.

"Roxas~" Trilled the boy, bouncing on his feet and sizing up Axel. "Your boyfriend's here, and boy does he look mighty fine!"

"Shut it Sora" snapped Roxas, appearing suddenly and pushing the brunette out of the doorway."Ignore him," he mumbled to Axel, saying a quick goodbye to his brother and closing the door. "He's a little…"  
>"Excitable?"<p>

"That's one word for it, I suppose."

Roxas had not even reacted to his outfit, and Axel didn't know whether to be relieved or offended.

He did, however, have a very big reaction to Axel's car, which included quite a lot of swooning and careful petting. Once seated, Roxas asked the question Axel had been dreading. "How on earth did you afford such a pretty car working at Scrooge's? "

I didn't," MUttered Axel, concentrating pointedly on the road. "My parents bought it."

"Oh."  
>"Yeah."<p>

Silence.

"My parents probably wouldn't even buy me a toy car."  
>"Oh."<br>"Yeah."

Axel smiled.

"I think we'll have to rectify that problem.."

xxxx

The conversation remained light and casual, and Axel was secretly pleased that, after such a rocky start, the two were able to carry a conversation so well.  
>Neither mentioned their first two meetings, and neither complained.<p>

It was quarter to 8 when they arrived at the venue. Mickey's was exactly the kind of place you expected from a town like Twilight Town. It wasn't uncommon for people to show up wearing hula skirts or 'hawaiian' shirts. It had a melancholic feel, but the booze was cheap, and they played decent music, so Axel was a fairly frequent visitor.

Roxas was looking around curiously, it obviously being his first time there.  
>"You look surprised."<p>

"I, uh." Roxas seemed lost of words, something which Axel had started to notice he was quite a lot of the time. "It's, um. interesting."

Axel grinned. "Come, i'll buy us some drinks."

He did not plan on getting completely shit-faced, but Axel enjoyed a drink as much as the average 19 year old. Roxas seemed much more comfortable too, he noticed, with a drink in his hand.

They met Zexion a few minutes later, who was chatting animatedly (for him anyway) to a blonde female, who was introduced to Roxas as Larxene.

"She bites," Axel warned him, as the girl grinned somewhat evilly at him.  
>Roxas just laughed, a good sign, in Axel's opinion. He led the blonde towards a booth and the two sat down.<p>

Roxas sipped quietly on his drink, eyes still darting around as though he was scared or uncomfortable. Axel didn't say anything, giving Roxas the opportunity to initiate conversation.

He did, after a lengthy pause. "I was kind of worried you were a serial killer."

"You wouldn't be the first," grinned Axel.

"Mmm."

They were silent again. The music was loud enough to mask it, but Axel was growing steadily more uncomfortable.

"So, uh. How old are you anyway?"  
>"You didn't think to ask before you brought me a drink?"<p>

Axel rolled his eyes. Roxas stuck out his tongue.  
>"19. My favourite colour is green, by the way, but no i'm not going to give you my credit card number."<p>

Axel laughed. "You look pretty teeny to be 19."

"And you look scrawny enough that i'm surprised you haven't broken in half." Retorted Roxas. "How tiny are your hips anyway."

Axel rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say Roxie."

Roxas blushed. "Don't call me that."

"You can't stop me," drawled Axel.

Roxas opened his mouth to speak, but Axel nudged him. "Oi, there's Demyx."

The lanky blonde had arrived on stage, sitar in hand and an all encompassing grin. "Howdy folks!" he yelled, his band mates setting themselves up behind him.  
>He continued talking but Axel was paying attention to Roxas, whose eyes were wide. "Why does he have a sitar" he whispered.<p>

Axel grinned.

Then the music started.

-

Roxas spent the rest of the night gushing over Demyx's performance. Axel would've been a little jealous, if it weren't for the fact that the kid was right - Demyx was amazing.

The most amusing part was when Demyx had joined them afterwards and Roxas stood for a good ten minutes shaking Demyx's hand. Zexion however, did seem to mind, eventually dragging his boyfriend away to make out in a corner.

It was kind of adorable, reflected Axel as the two walked to the car, seeing Roxas so excited and happy. It he wasn't crushing on the boy before, he definitely was now. The way his eyes had lit up, the way his face took on a manic look of excitement, his arms flailing, bouncing up and down.

So adorable.

They arrived at Roxas' in no time at all, and Axel was slightly disappointed.

Walking Roxas to the door, he did not expect a good night kiss, but was surprised when the other boy grabbed his hand.

"Thanks," he whispered, as though he didn't want anybody to hear him. "For everything."

Axel smiled. "Anything for you, kind sir."

And Roxas smiled back.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

From then it was easy.  
>Axel worked most days, and most days, Roxas would come into his work, taking a seat in a booth now referred to as 'Roxie's.' He would bring books and video games, homework and a laptop. He would sit quietly for hours, and when it wasn't busy or Axel was on break, he'd bug the redhead. Not that Axel was bugged, he was flattered and excited that he'd made such an impact on the other boy so quickly.<br>Sometimes he'd be joined by the boy with pink hair (his brother, Ventus) or Sora. Occasionally Demyx and Larxene would sit with him, having come to annoy Axel themselves. But most of the time, it was just Roxas.  
>"I like your uniform," Roxas commented one day, blushing slightly. Axel recoiled. The pink stripy uniform clashed horribly with his red hair.<br>"You're joking, right?"  
>"Obviously. I can't believe someone with your ego would willingly wear that."<br>"Excuse me, but I am beautiful no matter what you say."  
>"Words can't bring you down?" Laughed Roxas, scooting closer to Axel, who was extremely aware of how close they were sitting.<p>

"Mmm," Axel took a bite of his ketchup sandwich.

Roxas hummed, drumming his fingers on the table. "So, I was thinking…" he began.  
>"Did it hurt?"<br>Roxas rolled his eyes. "Fine, i'll just leave then."  
>"How will I survive!" Axel whined dramatically, taking another bite and spitting crumbs all over Roxas.<br>"You are disgusting."

It was a few minutes before Roxas brought the topic back up. "I was thinking that you should come over some time. My mum's been bugging me to meet the new friend i've been spending 80% of my time with, so I thought why not? Y'know? We can play video games or something. Uh, i'll cook us dinner? something, just anything, I don't know." He had been turning redder and redder as he rambled on.

Axel beamed at him. "I'd love to. Unless you're a serial killer and you're going to bury my body in your backyard.."

"Don't be stupid. It wouldn't be in my backyard, it'd probably be in Zexion's."  
>"He does seem like a murderer. Pinning it on him wouldn't be too difficult."<br>"Exactly."

xxxxx

The day came quickly enough. It was again a Saturday, and Axel had worn his nicest, non-clashy, but still casual clothes. He was, after all, meeting his future mother in law (Or so Demyx had joked.) He was beyond nervous pulling up into the rickety driveway. Roxas was at the door before he'd even knocked.

"Hey," he said smiling his usual nervous smile.  
>"Hi." repeated Axel, a little sloppily.<p>

Roxas grabbed his hand and dragged him inside. "Nobody's home at the moment," he mentioned casually. "But they'll be back soon, c'mon I want to make the most of our time alone."

Axel laughed. "You really just lured me here to have your way with me, didn't you?"

Roxas' face burned and he protested hotly. "I did not!"  
>"Sure thing, buddy."<p>

He rolled his eyes, something he seemed to do a lot around Axel, and dragged him upstairs.  
>Roxas' house was of average size for their little town, but Axel was surprised at how homely it felt. Most houses were full of antiques or valuables, with an air of 'no running inside.' Roxas' house, however, seemed busy and colourful, with not a vase or collectable in sight. There were blue carpets and red walls, a spacious, but cluttered kitchen and hundreds of awful, typical family photos. The windows were taller than Axel, which was saying a lot really, and Roxas' room didn't even have a door.<p>

He stood nervously in the doorway. "So, uh, this is my room." The walls were painted a crisp orange, whilst the carpets were the darkest in the house by far. His bookcase was full to the brim with books, video games and figurines that looked to be mostly from the terribly popular Final Fantasy series. He had a tiny desk pressed into the corner, which sat several different cameras, more books and a large stack of magazines. His bed-spread was plain, but upon a pillow sat a tiny Stitch plush wearing a pair of Mickey Mouse ears. By far, the most interesting thing about Roxas' room however, was the wall to the left of the doorway. The whole wall was left clear, but not empty. Messily stuck to the wall with duct tape were thousands upon thousands of eyes.

There were the usual blue, green, brown, hazel eyes. Some of them were made up, with long lashes and thick eyeliner. Others were glittery or beaded, some were simple and clean. Some of them were deep and full of expression,, whereas some of them looked black and empty. Some were peculiar, purples and oranges, spotted or striped. Some of them even looked like they were moving. There were photos that Roxas had obviously taken, drawings, print-outs and magazine cutouts. So many eyes.

Axel had been staring way too long at the wall. "You think i'm weird now, don't you?" Questioned Roxas, sounding anxious.

"Not at all. I mean, it's the kinda poetic bullshit most teens have plastered around their rooms, just without the words I guess."

Roxas frowned.

"Not to call it bullshit," Axel cut in. "I just mean.. well. It's very, you?"  
>"Right.."<p>

"No, really. I like it."

Roxas returned Axel's grin. "I guess it couldn't weird you out any more if I told you that these," he pointed to a particularly stunning pair of green eyes, "are yours."

Axel blinked. Looked at the eyes. Blinked again.

"I don't believe it!" He protested loudly. "How on earth did you make my eyes look so, well. Not lame."

"Speaking of being poetic.."  
>"You know what I mean."<p>

"No filter." he said laughing. "Your eyes are just naturally that beautiful." He realised what he'd said about a second after he'd said it and turned a pretty pink.

"Aw Roxie," he grinned. "I didn't know you felt that way."

"Shutup," said Roxas, pushing Axel away.

Axel grabbed the smaller boy's hand, and held it gently. They stared at each other for a long moment, before Roxas said "do you, um, want to uh."  
>"Yeah," replied Axel. "I do."<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

The rest of the evening was pretty standard. They spent two hours swearing at each other over a heated game of MarioKart (Roxas as Toad, Axel as Bowser) until Sora bounced in (again, wearing gloves on his head) and demanded to know why the two weren't locked in the bedroom making out. Roxas actually got up and kicked him.

Ventus arrived home somewhere around 11, with a shifty look in his eye, and ran upstairs as soon as he were questioned.

Roxas' mother, however, did not arrive home at all. Nobody seemed concerned about that, except for Axel.

"I thought your mum wanted to meet me." he said offhandedly, shoveling down some sort of rice dish Roxas had prepared.

"She works late," said Roxas hastily. Axel didn't question any further.

"You are, by the way, a fabulous cook." Axel said, devouring the last mouthful. "A man of many talents, I see."

Roxas looked slightly uneasy, but smiled anyway. "I try."

"Not hard enough," said Sora, sliding onto the seat next to Roxas. "Tell me, Axel, has Roxas made you hard enough?"

Axel raised an eyebrow.

Roxas kicked Sora again.

"So, Axel."

"So, Sora."

"You better be treating my brother right."

"Do you have to do this whilst I'm_ right here,_" moaned Roxas loudly. Sora ignored him.

"I mean," he continued "my dear brother is a delicate soul, beautiful but very, very delicate."

Axel raised his other eyebrow. "I didn't realise that Roxas was a flower."

"No," admitted Sora. "More like a 13 year old teenage girl."

"I am not-!"

"No," Sora said thoughtfully. "More like a damsel in distress."

Axel laughed at the indignant look on Roxas' face.

"I think Roxas can take care of himself pretty well. He doesn't need me to save him from the scary dragons."

xxxxxx

Axel got the feeling that he had overstepped some sort of boundary at Roxas' house, but he couldn't think of what it would be. Regardless, the other boy was being incredibly vague and distant the next week, or well, more so than usual at any rate.

Axel thought about approaching him, but it was much more fun teasing the blonde than having a conversation that could potentially lead to an argument. Roxas continued to spend the majority of his time at Scrooge's Ice Cream Parlor, but occasionally he was joined by different people - one of those being a boy with sandy blonde hair, who Axel knew to be called Hayner.

He wasn't jealous exactly, after all, they were in Axel's territory. But when the two sat whispering,heads bent together, or spent hours laughing over stupid things Axel didn't quite understand, he admitted to himself that he was feeling a little uneasy.

He had of course been attracted to Roxas upon first sight, but seeing the boy so often, getting to know him slowly but surely, he had become quite enamored with him.

More so than he had ever been with anybody else. He could explain it away with the boy simply being attractive, but it had long passed that, he thought. He craved Roxas' company. He treasured every moment he spent with him, and when he wasn't with him, he was wishing that he was. Roxas was adorable. The way he stuck his tongue out when he was concentrating. The way his eyes darted around when he was nervous, as though he was looking for the nearest exit. The way he flailed around like an excitable puppy when he was happy. The precise way his mouth curved when he was thinking hard about something.

The way his fingers fit perfectly with Axel's, on the increasingly regular periods when they were intertwined.

They were big things but not things that anybody wouldn't pick up upon watching Roxas for a few hours.

There were still things he did not know or understand about Roxas. For example, why had he collapsed at Scrooge's all those weeks ago. Axel knew better than to bring up the subject though. He would find out in good time, he was sure.

Meanwhile, he was just going to enjoy being around Roxas. The following weekend brought them to the woods, where they were drawing on trees with chalk for one of Roxas' art projects.

"I don't get it," said Axel, watching Roxas draw a complicated pattern on an ancient-looking tree. "I mean, it's summer. How can you be bothered taking classes."

"I like to keep myself busy," Roxas stated simply. "This way i'm concentrating on doing something other than staring at the walls."

"You make a habit of staring at walls?"

"Sometimes," murmured Roxas looking down.

Axel didn't continue the conversation, instead he worked on finishing his own, much less complicated, sketch.

It took them a few hours,but Roxas was finally satisfied with the results. He'd brought along one of his fancy cameras for the project, and was flicking through the images as they walked down the main street.

"They came out pretty good," mused Roxas, and Axel grinned.

"Of course, with my brilliant expertise."

"Yeah, totally all you."

Axel grinned and stuck his tongue out.

Roxas smiled. "You're such a dork."

They were almost at Roxas' house, when it happened.

They were passing a park, filled with excited children, teenagers on skateboards and bored looking parents. Roxas was laughing about something Axel had said (as usual, he was always laughing at Axel) hen his laughter faded and his eyes grew wide.

He stopped dead in his tracks, his camera falling out of his hands and bouncing across the uneven footpath.

Axel opened his mouth to say something at the same moment as Roxas opened his. A high pitched scream escaped from his pretty lips, it was a raw and animalistic sound that blocked out the excited squeals of the children at the park. Axel panicked, grabbing Roxas shoulders and shaking him a little.

"Roxas, are you - Roxas?" His voice was trembling but Roxas ignored him, and continued screaming.

"What's wrong, what are you - Roxas?"

Roxas' eyes were hazy and unfocused as he hung limp in Axel's arms. "P-please," he whimpered, clutching Axel tightly. "I-I can't. H-help me."

"Help you how? What can I do? Roxas, what's going on?" Axel was livid, but trying his best to stay calm and looking straight into Roxas' eyes.

Roxas was shaking, but he had stopped screaming at least. He curled into Axel, crying heavily and unashamed. Axel made soothing noises into his ear, trying to comfort him in the only way he knew how.

"They're going to take me away," he sobbed. "They're coming to find me and I just can't. Please help me."

"Nobody's going to take you," he whispered, holding Roxas tightly, "not if I can help it."

Roxas' breathing was starting to return to normal, his eyes were still watery but seemed to be slowly gaining helped him regain his balance, and picked up his camera, handing it to the smaller boy.

Roxas' eyes were now darting around, and realisation was seemingly dawning over him. "I-I-"

Axel shushed him, holding him again, even tighter. "It's okay, let's just get you home."

Sora was smiling when he answered the door, but his face dropped when he saw Axel and Roxas' matching pale faces.

He ushered them in, helping Roxas up the stairs and into his room, presumably the lay down.

Axel stood in the kitchen, a thousand thoughts running through his mind. What in the world…?

Sora returned a few minutes later, and smiled grimly at Axel.

"How is-"

"He'll be okay," Sora murmured, offering the redhead some water.

"What was that?" Axel asked, but Sora shook his head.

"I don't know the details of what happened, but I can assume. That's for Roxas to explain to you,i'm sorry."

Axel sighed and nodded. "I thought you might say that, i'm just worried is all."

"I know you care. Just. Well, it's like you said, Roxas doesn't need anybody to save him from his dragons."

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Roxas was sitting at his usual spot in Scrooge's the next morning when Axel arrived. He had 10 minutes before his shift started, and so he slid into the booth next to the other boy.

"Hi," he said quietly. Roxas wouldn't meet his eyes.

"Hi."

"Are you going to-"

"I just wanted to-"

"I'm sorry that-"

"I didn't mean to-"

They both paused.

"Sorry," said Axel, staring intently at Roxas. "You go."

Roxas sighed, looking down at the table and twiddling his thumbs.

"Would you like to, um, go out for dinner with me tonight?"

Not quite what Axel was expecting, the look of surprise obviously showing on his face.

"I mean if you don't want to we-"

"No," interrupted Axel, "no, it's fine. I'd love to have dinner with you."

Roxas' entire demeanor brightened. "That's fantastic. I know you have work soon, and I have to leave, but yeah. Um, can you meet me seven-thirty by the clocktower?"

Axel assured him he'd be there.

Roxas gave his a winning smile, said his goodbyes and left.

Well, Axel supposed, it could have gone a lot worse.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

He spent all day fretting about what to wear, like a thirteen year old going on her first date. Roxas never made him feel bad about anything, least of all his appearance, but still, Axel fretted.

Roxas was wearing clothes considerably nicer than usual when Axel met up with him by the clocktower. They walked along the streets, chatting casually about Roxas' brother Sora.

Local gossip had reached Axel's ears, as it so often did, and as it turned out, Sora had been on not one, but four dates with their town's resident sweet-heart Riku.

"Does he really have silver hair?" whispered Roxas, looking somewhat in awe at Axel for knowing Riku. He had never met Riku, only hearing second hand ranting from his older brother.

Axel laughed. "Of anything you could've asked, that's what you come up with."

"Well, I wasn't going to ask the size of his penis," scoffed Roxas, "and i'm really hoping right now that you're not going to enlighten me" he added seeing the look in Axel's eyes.

"Wouldn't dream of it Blondie."

They reached their destination in good time. A tiny restaurant called Cid's Place that Axel had walked past a thousand times, but never entered.

They were seated by a bored looking blonde with gravity defying hair. Roxas knew him apparently - said his name was Cloud.

The place was playing the local radio station - loudly, and Roxas (being generally quiet) had to shout slightly to be heard over the noise.

They chatted for a few minutes, finally deciding on what they were going to eat, and then Roxas' face grew very solemn.

"You know why we're here right?"

"You're trying your hardest to sweep me off my feet, and can I just say-"

"Axel."

"Sorry," he muttered, looking down at the table. He was feeling terribly nervous for several reasons. But he could deal with that. What he couldn't deal with, was what happened next.

"Axel!" Yelled a voice, and Axel's eyes grew wide and panic shot through every part of his body.

A boy with long blue hair had suddenly appeared, as if out of nowhere. "S-saix," he said nervously. "What brings you here?"

Axel had just remembered why he never entered Cid's.

"Oh, some boring business deal of my dads, but hey," he slid into the seat next to Axel and kissed him full on the mouth.

Axel pushed him away, glaring at him, a look that he suddenly noticed was mirrored on Roxas' face. The blonde stood up, brushed himself off and said "I think I should leave."

"N-no Roxas, hey, don't-"

But Axel couldn't get passed Saix to follow him out the door.

Axel rounded on Saix. "Why did you have to-"

Saix's eyebrows were raised. "Your boyfriend?"

"No, he's just a friend but-"

"Then what's the problem?" asked Saix, placing an arm around Axel.

"The problem," said Axel through gritted teeth, "is that you shouldn't go around kissing people in public without their permission."

"Coming from you, Axel?" Said Saix with a bitter laugh. "I thought you liked me."

"No," said Axel, deciding at once what he was going to do. "I don't like you at all Saix. You're a terrible person. You're mean and cruel and selfish, and I'm pretty sure I saw you kick a dog once."

"And," He whispered, pushing Saix out of the way, "you just upset the one person I actually care about in this god forsaken place, now move so I can go find him."

xxxxxxxxx

He found Roxas huddled under the clock tower, crying and shaking for reasons he suspected were other than the encounter with Saix.

"Hey," said Axel reaching out a hand to touch his shoulder. Roxas flinched.

He looked up at Axel, blue eyes filled with sticky tears, and Axel thought sickly, he had never looked more beautiful.

"I'm sorry," Axel said quietly, not even attempting to touch Roxas again. "I should've told you."

"Yeah," spat Roxas through tears, "you should have."

"But," added Axel," I don't think that is the most important thing to deal with right now."

Roxas blinked and more tears danced down his face. "I-I c-can deal with this myself," he said hiccupping. "I always have."

"Roxas." Said Axel, with as much emotion as he dared. Said boy looked up, slightly surprised.

"C'mon, let's get you home."


	4. Chapter 4

Axel didn't see or hear from Roxas for a solid week. He knew enough about boys like Roxas to know that he needed to stay away, give him some space and time. (that, and Ventus had cornered him after work one day, telling him to leave Roxas alone _or else. _It was a little funny because Axel had always assumed Ven was the quiet one.) Also, Axel didn't exactly know how to approach the situation. He'd never been not-dating somebody before. He'd never been not-dating two people at once, only for one of them who he had no feelings for to approach him and kiss him in front of the other who he did have feelings for.

Slightly more complicated than casual sex with Demyx.

It was the Wednesday after the Saix-incident, when Axel received the text message.

'_I know you aren't busy because I stalk your work roster. If you can spare some time, would you mind coming over?'_

Axel was in the car in a good thirty seconds. He hadn't brushed his hair and he'd slept in these clothes, but Roxas, and making up with Roxas, were much more important.

He nervously knocked on the door, and Roxas answered, looking almost as dishevelled as Axel. His usual neat, white clothes were wrinkled and smudged with some foreign substance. His hair was messier than usual, and there were deep, dark bags under his eyes.

He smiled wryly and ushered Axel into the house. Sora was sitting in the kitchen reading a magazine, but didn't look up as the two passed. Nobody else seemed to be present. Axel was dragged upstairs, and into Roxas' room. A thousand eyes were staring down upon him, and he was suddenly feeling incredibly self-conscious.

He had fucked up. Roxas didn't look mad, only exhausted and miserable. But Axel deserved every bit of anger that Roxas was sure to throw at him.

Roxas, instead of picking up his pillows and throwing them at Axel, or punching him in the face like Axel had expected, took a deep breath and began talking. "You have been as honest as I could have hoped for with me. You've been kind and thoughtful and caring, and you always give me free ice-cream. I think you deserve the truth from me. Please keep in mind that you're only the second person outside of my family who knows this, and I'd like to keep it that way."

Axel noticed his hands shaking, and was slightly confused.

"Roxas-"

"No." the other boy interrupted, stopping Axel from talking. "I need to be honest with you, so you can be honest with me. I don't know who that boy was last week, and I kind of don't want to. But I will let you explain as soon as I'm done, I promise."

Axel stuck out his pinky. Roxas obliged to the pinky promise, and then continued to speak, voice low, and with very little emotion.

"I know you think you've seen the worst of me, but I can assure you, you haven't. Sometimes when I'm angry, I lose track of myself and my surroundings. I have been known to punch walls, or people. There are in fact several holes covered with eyes on my wall, despite only having lived here for a few months. That isn't even the worst of it. I threaten people, I emotionally blackmail, I hurt, I cheat, I like to destroy, and being angry makes me feel powerful." his eyes were flickering around the room, looking at anything but Axel.

"I am violent, hateful and disgusting. I wish there were a valid reason behind it, but there really isn't. Sometimes I take people, I make them fall in love with me, then I tear them down piece by piece. I think I had myself convinced I was going to do that to you, but then you were different and I couldn't bring myself to. Because, Axel,you bring out the best in me."

Axel opened his mouth to speak, but Roxas held up his hand. "I'm not finished.

"I am terrified of myself. As much as I like to destroy others, I like to destroy myself. Distance myself from every person who ever cared, cut myself into shreds, swallow unnecessary amounts of pills and one time I even drank a litre of shampoo just because I could."

He took another deep breath and the rest came out in one giant rush of words. "I like to blame that on the voices. There are three of them, and sometimes I let them win. They hate me, Axel. More than I could've ever imagined anybody hating anything.

"And then there's the organization. Twelve people who are determined to take me away, use me for experiments and then drop me back into my life like nothing has happened. I think that's why I am like this. Because they made me different. Took some part of my brain and destroyed it, and Axel, they're coming back for me."

His whole body was shaking, his eyes were full of fear, and sincerity.

"Sometimes I forget, and I can pretend that i'm normal and okay. But sometimes I just have to scream, I can't stop it. They took my Dad away too."

"Roxas," said Axel gently, "have you ever spoken to anybody besides your family about this."

"I see doctors, if that's what you mean" muttered Roxas, looking at the floor. "They make me take pills, but they're only eating away at my insides. I tell them they work so they'll leave me alone, but I never take them. I don't want to die. I don't want them to put anything inside me so that they know where I am. Axel, don't you understand."

"I'm trying to." Said Axel, mind whirling with the information he had been given. "I have never seen you be anything but kind, interesting and intelligent. You can't tell me you're this hurtful, hateful person."

"You learn to hide it," said Roxas. I used to be worse, but now i'm good at hiding it." His face was turning slightly manic and pale.

"But why are you like this?" Asked Axel, his voice steady but hands shaking. "Have they ever given you any reason?"

"Psychosis, they say. Triggered when I was eight years old, when, a boy named Seifer felt me up on the playground at school, and I just lost it."

Things were beginning to click together in Axel's mind. "So that's why you slapped me. And why you are so cautious about people touching you."

"Well," Said Roxas, "kissing me was a jerk move, but yes. You're right."

Axel apologised, and Roxas shrugged. "I forgave you for that a long time ago."

Axel reached out a hand, but Roxas did not take it.

"I've been living inside my head for such a long time, I just don't know how to be normal. I don't want them to take me away, I don't want to die, I just want to disappear and not live this life. It's so fucking unfair, and I'm so stupid and useless. I can't even maintain a friendship without freaking out like a stupid fucking idiot. Nobody cares about me, nobody would give a damn if I just threw myself off the clocktower."

"Roxas." Axel said, with a voice so full of love and admiration that Roxas stopped mid-rant. "Roxas, I care so much about you. And I know that is true of everybody you have met in Twilight Town. Maybe you've been dealt a shit hand, but I know you are a strong person - the proof is in you standing here with me, right now. You're a good person, you maybe can't always see it. Maybe you need a little more help to cope than the average person, and maybe you don't have the same capacity to deal with things, but you are a person. A glorious, adorable, witty, dork of a person. And god, I would miss you if you were to disappear. I think it would destroy me." He paused for a moment, thinking on how to proceed. "And just know, if any organization were to come after you, just know there's me, and Sora, Ven, Demyx and everybody else ready to fight for you. Because we all care. We don't care who you might've been in the past, we care about who you are now. We can work through this, together. I know."

And, watery though it was, Roxas smiled.

"The problem," he said softly, "is that the person come from the organization to take me away, is you."

xxxx

Things were a little rocky from then, but the two boys tried their hardest to maintain a good relationship. Axel had explained about the Saix situation, and whilst Roxas wasn't exactly happy about it, he did accept Axel's apologies and agreed to move on - after all, it wasn't like they were anything more than just friends.

Axel on the other hand, couldn't quite get past some of what Roxas had said. The other boy seemed harmless. He couldn't see him as cruel, hateful or loathing of anything. He smiled brightly and often, he looked people directly in the eye when talking to them, he seemed so honest and caring.

But could it really be just a deception?

And could he have really fabricated some of their relationship in order to get back at Axel in some way? He couldn't see it. He thought back to the time Roxas had become so vulnerable in Scrooge's. Or the time at the library. Even inviting Axel to his house.

He had never seemed anything other than innocent. They'd never even done anything other than hold hands. Yet, it was true that Axel had indeed fallen for the blonde. Was that just part of some grand scheme?

Or was it all just a part of something greater? Could Roxas really believe that Axel wanted to hurt him? Was from some sort of organization bent on 'bringing Roxas back'?"

He could hardly bear to think that Roxas thought he would ever want to hurt him.

But he had - hurt Roxas. Without even meaning to he had hurt him too many times already.

There had to be some way he could make it up to him. But there were so many thoughts scrambled in his mind, that he couldn't even begin to think of anything useful or helpful. He just hoped that in due time, something would come up. After all, it usually did.

xxxxx

Demyx's birthday was a few days later. Every year, his parents would throw him extravagant parties and invite everybody in town. Literally everyone. Even his mother's gynecologist. Don't forget the hordes of teenage girls who were in his fanclub. This year, however, Demyx had put his foot down, saying he wanted something small, at his own house, and just with his closest friends. His parents were hurt, but did agree that 20, despite being the end of his teen years, wasn't really something to celebrate.

That didn't stop them from buying him a Playstation 4, about twenty new games, a bucket load of clothes and some kind of fancy stage makeup that he'd wanted for a while. They even donated a donkey on his behalf in some distant country he'd never heard of.

Axel and Demyx didn't really buy each other birthday presents, but Axel did give him the courtesy of a free house for most of the day, where Zexion would presumably give his boyfriend his present.

Axel spent most of the day with Roxas, dragging him around and buying last minute things for the party (which thankfully for once did not include a thousand doves.) Roxas seemed a little distant, if Axel was completely honest, but he didn't bring the subject up just in case.

They were, after all, still on rocky ground, and Axel didn't want to push his luck.

They arrived back at Axel's around 7, and Axel was surprised when Sora opened the door.

"We always seem to meet like this," he mused, and Sora grinned.

"Fancy house you've got here Axel."

"Blah blah blah, let us in," said Roxas pushing past his brother.

Then he stopped and looked around in awe. He had never been to Axel's house before. The outside was slightly deceptive. It wasn't huge exactly, but for a nineteen and twenty year old who only worked part time, it was something else.

Their living area was the size of Roxas' house entire upstairs area, not to mention the size of the television stuck on the wall. There was a pool table which was obviously never used as it was full to the brim with video games. There was a bookshelf that looked like it belonged in a library, with the amount of books piled onto it. Photographs hung off every free surface. The colours were haphazard, an obvious mixture of Axel and Demyx's differing choices, but somehow seemed to match. Red couches and blue cushions, purple frames and yellow walls. It was all insanely bright.

Then there was the kitchen, where every surface was full with some kind of alcohol, or snack. There were, unlike in Roxas' house, many vases and antiques that looked like they cost a god-damned fortune. Musical instruments lay in various places around the house, and there were a fancy-looking fireplace with a neatly stacked pile of wood sitting beside it. That was just what Roxas could see standing in the foyer.

Roxas picked up a triangle and tried to hide his expression from Axel. Demyx bounded over to greet the arrivals, and noticed the look on Roxas' face. He thankfully, didn't say anything.

"Good to see you Roxie!" He said, clinging to the boy excitedly. Roxas flinched slightly, but Demyx had already bounced towards Axel, and didn't notice.

"Your house is insane," said Roxas to Axel, and Axel laughed. "Perks of having big-shot parents I guess. Never around, but hey, have a toy or ten."

Roxas grimaced. Then he turned to Sora. "What are you even doing here."

"He's with me," said a boy appearing seemingly out of nowhere. "Riku," he said holding out a hand to Roxas, smiling slightly.

"Oh," said Roxas slightly stunned. "Nice to finally meet you."

Axel had a few final preparations to make before everybody had arrived, and so left Roxas with his brother. Demyx followed him into the kitchen.

"How's it going," he whispered as quietly as somebody like Demyx could managed. Axel shrugged.

"As good as it can be, I guess."

Demyx grinned. "I hope he realises what he's in for tonight."

"Play nice Demyx."

"Oh, I always do."

xxxx

It was only an hour later, when Axel was completely wasted. He had hardly eaten all day, forgotten and taken a few too many tequila shots. Not that he minded, a party was a party, and he might as well do it drunk.

Roxas had also drunk quite a bit, but seemed to be holding his alcohol a lot better than Axel, for now.

"Sora seems happy" drawled Roxas, humming quietly to himself.

"When is that boy not happy?" Said Axel, raising an eyebrow.

"You know what I mean," said Roxas. "It's nice seeing him acting normal for a change, not worrying about me every second of every day."

He did protest a little when Riku and Sora started to make out, but Axel held onto him before he could run over and pull them apart.

It wasn't long after that that all the guests had arrived (There was Sora and Riku, Demyx and Zexion, Larxene and Kairi. And of course, Roxas and Axel.)

Axel had grown up around all of them, with the exception of Sora and Roxas, but noticed Roxas looking a little uneasy around so many unfamiliar faces. Axel tried to include him in any conversation, but the boy seemed to shy away whenever he was spoken to.

It was a few hours after that, and quite a few more shots, that Demyx proposed a game of "Never have I ever."

There was a shout of excitement, as there would be with any group of drunken young adults, at the suggestion, and they all settled down into a circle, Demyx sitting in Zexion lap, a pile of alcohol sitting in the middle.

"Is this seriously what you do for fun?" Whispered Roxas into Axel's ear.

Axel just hummed in response, reaching out to hold Roxas' hand.

Roxas stiffened reflexively, but relaxed his grip momentarily.

"I wanna go first!" Yelled Demyx waving his arms around, "Never have I ever kissed a girl!"

Everyone except for Zexion drank. "Gold star gay" joked Axel, and Zexion rolled his eyes.

"I swear I'll punch you next time you use that phrase."

"Never have I ever driven a car." From Kairi. Everyone bar Roxas drank.

"Never have I ever drank my own pee." Demyx drank, grumbling angrily at Axel. ("It was one time!")

"Never have I ever dreamed of saving the world using a giant key." Sora drank, grumbling angrily ("You said you wouldn't tell anyone!")

And then, "Never have I ever kissed Roxas." The room grew silent, except for Demyx hiccuping quietly. Axel picked up one of the bottles and took a swig. Roxas had grown a deep red.

"Never have I ever wanted to have sex with Roxas." Larxene was grinning manically, and Axel again drank. Roxas' looked scandalised, but didn't say anything.

A few more rounds passed, before it reached Demyx again. "Never have I ever," he paused, looking Axel straight in the eye, "been in love with Roxas."

Axel blinked. Once, then twice. Before he could respond, Roxas had stood up, legs shaking (whether from anger or the alcohol, Axel wasn't sure.) and breathing heavily. "I have to go."

He turned to leave, walking towards the door, but before he had reached it, Axel had caught up with him.  
>"Roxas, they were just joking, don't be so-"<p>

"No." Said Roxas, firmly. "They were picking on me. Because they know I like you, they were just picking on me, and it's not fair Axel. I can't deal with this, I -"

Axel put a hand over his mouth, and Roxas stopped talking momentarily. "They were just trying to include you," he said softly. Roxas softened.

"But they still-"

"Roxas," he said quietly, as he knew the others were eavesdropping, "please come with me."

Roxas did. Axel's mind was racing. _'Because they know I like you.' _

What in the world was that supposed to mean?

Axel led Roxas up to his room, which was rather unremarkable, except for a few canvas photos littering the walls.

He sat Roxas on his bed, and stared intently at him.

"Tell me what's wrong."

And Roxas started crying. Axel was startled. Fat tears were making there way down Roxas' face. Axel sat next to Roxas, and once again, held his hand.

"Whatever's wrong, I'm here for you."

"I know," sobbed Roxas, "I know and that's the worst thing. Why do you care so much about me Axel, i'm a horrible person."

"But Roxas," began Axel, "you aren't."

"But I am." he whispered, "I'm so horrible. I'm ruining this party for you, and I shouldn't even be here."

"Of course you should," said Axel frowning.

"No, no." Roxas whimpered. Axel gripped his hand tighter.

Then Roxas laughed. A horrible, strangled sort of laugh. "My friend Olette had this thing she used to say. 'Not sure about the boy you like? Get drunk. You will cry about the boy you like.' And now, here I am! Crying about you, because I like you Axel, I like you a lot and it's killing me. Because I can't have you, because I can't be in a normal relationship, and because you're way too good for me, i'm just a horrible person who does horrible things, and I just-"

"Why do you keep insisting you're horrible." Axel said, his voice sounding strangled too.

"Because I am!" Yelled Roxas, jumping up. "You don't have to pretend i'm not, Axel, and you don't have to pretend to like me. I know you think i'm a freak. I know you hate me, I don't know why you're bothering with me."

"Is that what this is all about?" Asked Axel, getting slightly angry. "Everything? Since that night with Saix, you've been mad at me because you think I don't like you? Roxas, I think the sun rises and sets simply because you exist. I think Rainbows only come out so the world can experience the look of delight on your face. I'm pretty sure you're the most perfect person i've ever met in my life, and I feel like i'm giving you everything I have, why wont you believe me?"

"Why should I believe anything. You're just trying to butter me up so you can take me away to join your stupid organization!" Roxas' voice was getting louder with every word. "I wont come, I wont!"

That was when he pulled out the knife.


End file.
